Job dependencies

Job dependencies 1/

needs can start jobs from the next stage early…

job1:
  stage: stage1
  #...
job2:
  stage: stage2
  needs: job1
  #...

…or delay them in the same stage

job1:
  stage: test
  #...
job2:
  stage: test
  needs: job1
  #...

Job dependencies 2/

Depend on a job but do not consume artifacts :

job_name:
  #...

job_name2:
  needs:
    job: job_name
    artifacts: false

Consume artifacts from parent (upstream) pipeline :

job_name:
  script: cat artifact.txt
  needs:
  - pipeline: $PARENT_PIPELINE_ID
    job: create-artifact

Job dependencies 3/3

Why dependencies and needs?

dependencies

Has been around longer

Only intended for artifacts

needs

Handles job execution order

Can be used for artifacts

Hands-On

See chapter Job dependencies

Pro tip: Passing atifacts with needs

If you have one stage with two jobs where one depends on the other using needs, artifacts are passed correctly between them.

This is important to note because without needs jobs in the same stage to not receive artifacts from each other.